Hi Cliff

When I apply my cloth I start about three ft from an end of the boat, work toward that end and get it wet out.

Then I go back to my starting point and work my way down to the other end of the boat.

I apply the epoxy with a west roller, first coat fairly generously as I don't pre-coat the wood. I roll the epoxy on downward and diagonally away from the keel toward the uncoated ends of the boat (about 45 degrees). I roll slowly so that the cloth does not lift as the roller passes over it.

Every three ft or so, as I am applying the epoxy I like to GENTLY pull the cloth lengthwise (toward the dry area) and downward toward the sheer to ensure that it is well stretched out. This helps eliminate loose areas where ripples may form.

As soon as the cloth is transparent and the wood nicely wetted out I start with the squeegee. I use a bendy tile grouting squeegee. I begin at my previous starting point a few feet in and work toward the end and then come back and do the long end. Once again, I try to work diagonally from the keel toward the end. I try to get even slow overlapping sweeps with the squeegee at a slanting angle and try not to go over an area twice. If you swipe too quickly you will leave excessive epoxy behind in the cloth. If you go over an area too much (with roller or squeegee) you can get a foaming effect (tiny bubbles) in the epoxy.

It can be helpful to pull out ripples as you squeegee if you get to the offending area in time, but beware that the ripple will have to be pulled out to the end of the boat, otherwise you are just moving the ripple around.

To get the epoxy off the squeegee after each pass I use a paper cup with a slot (About an inch) cut vertically into the rim. Run the squeegee blade through the cut and the epoxy stays in the cup. If the cup heats up too quickly use two or three cups.

Any other excess epoxy goes on the floor, on your shoes, on your bench, in your hair on your clothing, and on your respirator.

Try to get to fill coats before amine blush occours, sanding between coats will obviously cut into your cloth and should be avoided. I just roll on two or three more coats (depending on temparature and viscosity), without using the squeegee. One wants to fill the weave with these coats so wiping it off again seems a waste. Even though the cloth texture may still feel apparent after the fill coats, this is because the epoxy follows the texture of the cloth weave. It is probably covered and ready for sanding flat.

That is my method for what I find to be the least enjoyable aspect of the project. Especially glassing the inside.

Et